FRSX Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd

The selected consolidated financial data for the fiscal years set forth in the table below have been derived from our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. The selected consolidated statements of operations data for fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017, and the selected consolidated balance sheet data at December 31, 2019 and 2018, have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto set forth elsewhere in this annual report. The selected consolidated statements of operations data as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of 2017 and 2016 have been derived from audited financial statements not included in this annual report.

The selected financial data should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and are qualified entirely by reference to such consolidated financial statements.

Non-GAAP Data:

The table below includes non-GAAP financial measures of net loss for each period that exclude the effect of stock-based compensation expenses, revaluation of other investments (Rail Vision warrants) and revaluation of derivative warrant liability, and non-GAAP financial measures of shareholders’ equity that exclude the effect of derivative warrant liability and of the revaluation of other investments. We believe the non-GAAP financial information provided is useful to investors’ understanding and assessment of our ongoing operations. We also use both U.S. GAAP and non-GAAP information in evaluating and operating our business internally and as such deemed it important to provide all this information to investors. The non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and the financial results calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP and reconciliations to those financial statements should be carefully evaluated.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information in this annual report on Form 20-F. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business and financial condition could suffer and the price of the ADSs could decline.

Risks Related to Our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements

We are a development-stage company and have a limited operating history on which to assess the prospects for our business, have incurred significant losses since the date of our inception, and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses until we are able to successfully commercialize our products.

Our significant shareholder, Magna B.S.P. Ltd., or Magna, was incorporated in Israel in 2001. Starting in 2011, Magna began to develop technology devoted to vehicle safety. Magna operated its vehicle safety segment of operations as a separate division for accounting purposes. On October 11, 2015, we entered into a merger agreement, or the Merger, with Magna and Foresight Automotive, whereby we acquired 100% of the share capital of Foresight Automotive from Magna. Since the date of the Merger, we have been operating as a development-stage company and have a limited operating history on which to assess the prospects for our business, have incurred significant losses, and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future.

Since the date of the Merger, and as of December 31, 2019, we have incurred net losses of approximately $49.3 million.

We have devoted substantially all of our financial resources to develop our products. We have financed our operations primarily through the issuance of equity securities. The amount of our future net losses will depend, in part, on completing the development of our products, the rate of our future expenditures and our ability to obtain funding through the issuance of our securities, strategic collaborations or grants. We expect to continue to incur significant losses until we are able to successfully commercialize our products. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:

We have not generated any significant revenue from the sale of our current products and may never be profitable.

We have not yet commercialized any of our products and have not generated any significant revenue since the date of the Merger. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability depends on our ability to successfully complete the development of, and to commercialize, our products. Our ability to generate future revenue from product sales depends heavily on our success in many areas, including but not limited to:

We expect that we will need to raise substantial additional capital before we can expect to become profitable from sales of our products. This additional capital may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our product development efforts or other operations.

We expect that we will require substantial additional capital to commercialize our products. In addition, our operating plans may change as a result of many factors that may currently be unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including but not limited to:

Any additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our products. In addition, we cannot guarantee that future financing will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Moreover, the terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of the ADSs and Ordinary Shares to decline. The incurrence of indebtedness could result in increased fixed payment obligations, and we may be required to agree to certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. We could also be required to seek funds through arrangements with collaborative partners or otherwise at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable, and we may be required to relinquish rights to some of our technologies or products or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects. Even if we believe that we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans, we may seek additional capital if market conditions are favorable or if we have specific strategic considerations.

If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis, we may be required to significantly curtail, delay or discontinue one or more of our research or development programs or the commercialization of our products or be unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities, as desired, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Raising additional capital would cause dilution to our existing shareholders and may affect the rights of existing shareholders.

We may seek additional capital through a combination of private and public equity offerings, debt financings and collaborations and strategic and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a holder of the ADSs and Ordinary Shares.

Our consolidated financial statements contain an explanatory paragraph regarding substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, which could prevent us from obtaining new financing on reasonable terms or at all.

Our audited consolidated financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2019, contain an explanatory paragraph regarding substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to the carrying amounts and classifications of assets and liabilities that might result from the outcome of the uncertainty regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. This going concern opinion could materially limit our ability to raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or debt securities or otherwise. Further financial statements may include an explanatory paragraph with respect to our ability to continue as a going concern. Until we can generate significant recurring revenues, we expect to satisfy our future cash needs through debt or equity financing. We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. If funds are not available, we may be required to delay, reduce the scope of, or eliminate research or development plans for, or commercialization efforts with respect to our products. This may raise substantial doubts about our ability to continue as a going concern. 

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Defects in products could give rise to product returns or product liability, warranty or other claims that could result in material expenses, diversion of management time and attention, and damage to our reputation.

Even if we are successful in introducing our products to the market, our products may contain undetected defects or errors that, despite testing, are not discovered until after a product has been used. This could result in delayed market acceptance of those products, claims from distributors, end-users or others, increased end-user service and support costs and warranty claims, damage to our reputation and business, or significant costs to correct the defect or error. We may from time to time become subject to warranty or product liability claims that could lead to significant expenses as we need to compensate affected end-users for costs incurred related to product quality issues.

Any claim brought against us, regardless of its merit, could result in material expense, diversion of management time and attention, and damage to our reputation, and could cause us to fail to retain or attract customers. Currently, we do not maintain product liability insurance, which will be necessary prior to the commercialization of our products. It is likely that any product liability insurance that we will have in the future will be subject to significant deductibles and there is no guarantee that such insurance will be available or adequate to protect against all such claims, or we may elect to self-insure with respect to certain matters. Costs or payments made in connection with warranty and product liability claims and product recalls or other claims could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, the automotive industry in general is subject to litigation claims due to the nature of personal injuries that result from traffic accidents. The emerging technologies of advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS, and autonomous driving have not yet been litigated or legislated to a point whereby their legal implications are well documented. As a potential provider of such products, we may become liable for losses that exceed the current industry and regulatory norms. In addition, if any of our products are, or are alleged to be, defective, we may be required to participate in a recall of such products if the defect or the alleged defect relates to motor vehicle safety. Depending on the terms under which we supply our products, an auto manufacturer or other ADAS developers to whom we sell our software may hold us responsible for some or all of the entire repair or replacement costs of these products.

Our future success depends in part on our ability to retain our executive officers and to attract, retain and motivate other qualified personnel.

We are highly dependent on the services of both Mr. Haim Siboni and Mr. Levy Zruya. The loss of their services without proper replacement may adversely impact the achievement of our objectives. Messrs. Siboni and Zruya may leave our employment at any time subject to contractual notice periods, as applicable. Also, our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled individuals, particularly our software engineers and computer vision professionals. Recruiting and retaining qualified employees, consultants, and advisors for our business, including scientific and technical personnel, will also be critical to our success. There is currently a shortage of skilled personnel in our industry, which is likely to continue. As a result, competition for skilled personnel is intense and the turnover rate can be high. We may not be able to attract and retain personnel on acceptable terms given the competition in the industry in which we operate. Moreover, certain of our competitors or other technology businesses may seek to hire our employees. The inability to recruit and retain qualified personnel, or the loss of the services of our executive officers, without proper replacement, may impede the progress of our development and commercialization objectives.

Under applicable employment laws, we may not be able to enforce covenants not to compete and therefore may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of some of our former employees.

We generally enter into non-competition agreements with our employees. These agreements prohibit our employees from competing directly with us or working for our competitors or clients for a limited period after they cease working for us. We may be unable to enforce these agreements under the laws of the jurisdictions in which our employees work and it may be difficult for us to restrict our competitors from benefiting from the expertise that our former employees or consultants developed while working for us. For example, Israeli courts have required employers seeking to enforce non-compete undertakings of a former employee to demonstrate that the competitive activities of the former employee will harm one of a limited number of material interests of the employer that have been recognized by the courts, such as the secrecy of a company’s confidential commercial information or the protection of its intellectual property. If we cannot demonstrate that such interests will be harmed, we may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of our former employees or consultants and our ability to remain competitive may be diminished.

We depend entirely on the success of our current products in development, and we may not be able to successfully introduce these products and commercialize them.

We have invested almost all of our efforts and financial resources in the research and development of our products in development. As a result, our business is entirely dependent on our ability to complete the development of, and to successfully commercialize, our product candidates. The process of development and commercialization is long, complex, costly and uncertain of outcome.

We may not be able to introduce products acceptable to customers and we may not be able to improve the technology used in our current systems in response to changing technology and end-user needs.

The markets in which we operate are subject to rapid and substantial innovation, regulation and technological change, mainly driven by technological advances and end-user requirements and preferences, as well as the emergence of new standards and practices. Even if we are able to complete the development of our products in development, our ability to compete in the ADAS, semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicle markets will depend, in large part, on our future success in enhancing our existing products and developing new systems that will address the varied needs of prospective end-users, and respond to technological advances and industry standards and practices on a cost-effective and timely basis to otherwise gain market acceptance.

Even if we successfully introduce our existing products in development, it is likely that new systems and technologies that we develop will eventually supplant our existing systems or that our competitors will create systems that will replace our systems. As a result, any of our products may be rendered obsolete or uneconomical by our or others’ technological advances.

We may not be able to successfully manage our planned growth and expansion.

We expect to continue to make investments in our products in development. We expect that our annual operating expenses will continue to increase as we invest in business development, marketing, research and development, manufacturing and production infrastructure, and develop customer service and support resources for future customers. Failure to expand operational and financial systems timely or efficiently may result in operating inefficiencies, which could increase costs and expenses to a greater extent than we anticipate and may also prevent us from successfully executing our business plan. We may not be able to offset the costs of operation expansion by leveraging the economies of scale from our growth in negotiations with our suppliers and contract manufacturers. Additionally, if we increase our operating expenses in anticipation of the growth of our business and this growth falls short of our expectations, our financial results will be negatively impacted.

If our business grows, we will have to manage additional product design projects, materials procurement processes, and sales efforts and marketing for an increasing number of products, as well as expand the number and scope of our relationships with suppliers, distributors and end customers. If we fail to manage these additional responsibilities and relationships successfully, we may incur significant costs, which may negatively impact our operating results. Additionally, in our efforts to be first to market with new products with innovative functionality and features, we may devote significant research and development resources to products and product features for which a market does not develop quickly, or at all. If we are not able to predict market trends accurately, we may not benefit from such research and development activities, and our results of operations may suffer.

As our future development and commercialization plans and strategies develop, we expect to need additional managerial, operational, sales, marketing, financial and legal personnel. Our management may need to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from our day-to-day activities and devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations, which may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, failure to deliver and timely deliver our products to customers, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. Our expected growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of additional new products. If our management is unable to effectively manage our growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate and/or grow revenue could be reduced, and we may not be able to implement our business strategy.

Our operating results and financial condition may fluctuate.

Even if we are successful in introducing our products to the market, the operating results and financial condition of our company may fluctuate from quarter to quarter and year to year and are likely to continue to vary due to several factors, many of which will not be within our control. If our operating results do not meet the guidance that we provide to the marketplace or the expectations of securities analysts or investors, the market price of the ADS will likely decline. Fluctuations in our operating results and financial condition may be due to several factors, including those listed below and those identified throughout this “Risk Factors” section:

Due to all of the foregoing factors, and the other risks discussed herein, you should not rely on quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results as an indicator of our future performance.

The markets in which we participate are competitive. Even if we are successful in completing the development of our products in development, our failure to compete successfully could cause any future revenues and the demand for our products not to materialize or to decline over time.

We aim to sell our products to auto manufacturers that incorporate ADAS, semi-autonomous and autonomous technologies in their automobiles and other companies that market or develop component parts of these systems. Many of our competitors have extensive track records and relationships within the automotive industry.

Many of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories and more extensive name recognition than we have and may also have greater financial, marketing, manufacturing, distribution and other resources than we have. Current and future competitors may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer demands and to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we can. Our current and potential competitors may develop and market new technologies that render our existing or future products obsolete, unmarketable or less competitive (whether from a price perspective or otherwise). We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain a competitive position or to compete successfully against current and future sources of competition.

If our relationships with suppliers for our products and services were to terminate or our manufacturing arrangements were to be disrupted, our business could be interrupted.

Our products depend on certain third-party technology and we purchase component parts that are used in our products from third-party suppliers, some of whom may compete with us. While there are several potential suppliers of most of these component parts that we use, we currently choose to use only one or a limited number of suppliers for several of these components. Our reliance on a single or limited number of vendors involves several risks, including:

In addition, we require any new supplier to become “qualified” pursuant to our internal procedures. The qualification process involves evaluations of varying durations, which may cause production delays if we were required to qualify a new supplier unexpectedly. We generally assemble our systems and parts based on our internal forecasts and the availability of assemblies, components and finished goods that are supplied to us by third parties, which are subject to various lead times. If certain suppliers were to decide to discontinue production of an assembly, component that we use, the unanticipated change in the availability of supplies, or unanticipated supply limitations, could cause delays in, or loss of, sales, increased production or related costs and consequently reduced margins, and damage to our reputation. If we were unable to find a suitable supplier for a particular component, we could be required to modify our existing products or the end-parts that we offer to accommodate substitute components or compounds.

Discontinuation of operations at our manufacturing sites could prevent us from timely filling customer orders and could lead to unforeseen costs for us.

We plan to assemble and test the systems that we sell at subcontractors’ facilities in various locations that are specifically dedicated to separate categories of systems and consumables. Because of our reliance on all of these production facilities, a disruption at any of those facilities could materially damage our ability to supply our products to the marketplace in a timely manner. Depending on the cause of the disruption, we could also incur significant costs to remedy the disruption and resume product shipments. Such disruptions may be caused by, among other factors, pandemics, earthquakes, fire, flood and other natural disasters. Accordingly, any such disruption could result in a material adverse effect on our revenue, results of operations and earnings, and could also potentially damage our reputation.

Our planned international operations will expose us to additional market and operational risks, and failure to manage these risks may adversely affect our business and operating results.

We expect to derive a substantial percentage of our sales from international markets. Accordingly, we will face significant operational risks from doing business internationally, including:

Our failure to manage the market and operational risks associated with our international operations effectively could limit the future growth of our business and adversely affect our operating results.

We face business disruption and related risks resulting from the recent outbreak of the novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our operations and business have be disrupted and could be materially adversely affected by the recent outbreak of COVID-19. The spread of COVID-19 from China to other countries has resulted in the Director General of the World Health Organization declaring the outbreak of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), based on the advice of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (2005), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. issued a warning on February 25, 2020 regarding the likely spread of COVID-19 to the U.S. International stock markets have begun to reflect the uncertainty associated with the slow-down in the Chinese economy and the reduced levels of international travel experienced since the beginning of January and the significant decline in the Dow Industrial Average at the end of February and beginning of March 2020 was largely attributed to the effects of COVID-19. The COVID-19 may also adversely affect our ability to conduct our business effectively due to disruptions to our capabilities, availability and productivity of personnel, while we simultaneously attempt to comply with rapidly changing restrictions, such as travel restrictions, curfews and others. In particular, following recommendations from the Israeli Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, on March 16, 2020, the Israeli prime minister announced new and more restrictive instructions under which businesses in the private sector must reduce their onsite workforce by 70%. Additional instructions require “non-essential” businesses to shut down, and the public sector to further reduce its workforce. During March 2020, emergency regulations enacted by the Israeli authorities restricted outdoor activities of all citizens. Currently travel to and from work is still permitted, however the authorities may place additional, more restrictive measures on businesses and individuals. Though we may still operate under such regulations, any additional actions taken by the Israeli government could further limit that ability which may have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial results. A significant reduction in our workforce and our compliance with instructions imposed by Israeli authorities may harm our ability to continue operating our business and materially and adversely affect our operations and financial condition. Further, we cannot assure you that we will be designated an “essential business”, as defined under the new instructions, and moreover, we cannot foresee whether the Israeli authorities will impose further restrictive instructions, which if implemented may lead to significant changes and potentially a shutdown of our operations.

Authorities around the world have and may continue implementing similar restrictions on business and individuals in their jurisdictions. We are still assessing our business operations and system supports and the impact COVID-19 may have on our results and financial condition. To date, we have taken action to reduce our operating expenses in the short term, but there can be no assurance that this analysis or remedial measures will enable us to avoid part or all of any impact from the spread of COVID-019 or its consequences, including downturns in business sentiment generally or in our sector in particular.

Significant disruptions of our information technology systems or breaches of our data security could adversely affect our business.

A significant invasion, interruption, destruction or breakdown of our information technology systems and/or infrastructure by persons with authorized or unauthorized access could negatively impact our business and operations. We could also experience business interruption, information theft and/or reputational damage from cyber-attacks, which may compromise our systems and lead to data leakage either internally or at our third-party providers. Our systems have been, and are expected to continue to be, the target of malware and other cyber-attacks. Although we have invested in measures to reduce these risks, we cannot assure you that these measures will be successful in preventing compromise and/or disruption of our information technology systems and related data.

Our products will be subject to automotive regulations due to the global quality requirements, which could prevent us from marketing our products to vehicle manufacturers.

The automotive regulations are dynamic and changing and effected by the final customer quality requirements as well. Even if we are successful in completing the development of our products, our failure to comply with the different types of regulations and requirements could delay the transfer to production schedule and eventually time to market.

In order to market our products to vehicle manufacturers we will be required to accomplish different type of regulations requirements such as ISO 26262 Functional Safety Regulations (ASIL), IAFT 16949 and Auto Spice or other common quality management methodologies. In order to meet the quality requirements, we will have to cooperate with vehicle manufacturers, to receive their customers’ quality requirements that meet the requisite regulation of such customers and implement tools, processes and methodologies. Such processes and tools will require resources and funds and will consume significant time effort until fully fulfilled. We are already investing time and efforts in order to study the global quality and regulations requirements, but we cannot assure, at this time, that we will be able to meet the regulations requirements on time.

Our products are cost sensitive and subject to customers’ aggressive target costs. Our products are subsystems of modules as part of full semi-autonomous or autonomous systems with low cost product expectations and we may therefore be forced to lower or costs or have lower margins.

The automotive industry is one that continuously strives for cost reduction goals and optimizing the vehicle cost to meet the end customers’ expectations. For example, the target cost of ADAS, semi-autonomous and autonomous systems are being continuously reduced and while our products are cost sensitive to various costs factors, we may fail to meet these reduced market targets costs. We are working to build a robust supply chain network to support our cost reduction efforts and optimize our hardware and software costs, but may not be successful in doing so. If we are unable to reduce our costs in line with industry target cost, our results of operations may be adversely impacted.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we are unable to obtain and maintain effective intellectual property rights for our products, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

Historically, we have relied on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our technologies and products. Since December 2015, we have also sought patent protection for certain of our products. Our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection in the United States and in other countries with respect to our proprietary technology and new products.

We have sought to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in Israel, the United States and in other countries, with respect to our novel technologies and products, which are important to our business. Patent prosecution is expensive and time consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection.

We have a growing portfolio of one granted U.S. patent, one pending international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application, three full applications with the Israeli Patent Office, two applications in China, three applications in Europe and two full U.S. applications. We cannot offer any assurances about which, if any, patent applications will issue, the breadth of any such patent or whether any issued patents will be found invalid and unenforceable or will be threatened by third parties. Any successful opposition to these patents or any other patents owned by or licensed to us after patent issuance could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of any new products that we may develop.

Further, there is no assurance that all potentially relevant prior art relating to our patent applications has been found, which can invalidate a patent or prevent a patent from issuing from a pending patent application. Even if patents do successfully issue, and even if such patents cover our products, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability, or scope, which may result in such patents being narrowed, found unenforceable or invalidated. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patent applications and any future patents may not adequately protect our intellectual property, provide exclusivity for our new products, or prevent others from designing around our claims. Any of these outcomes could impair our ability to prevent competition from third parties, which may have an adverse impact on our business.

If we cannot obtain and maintain effective patent rights for our products, we may not be able to compete effectively, and our business and results of operations would be harmed.

If we are unable to maintain effective proprietary rights for our products, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

In addition to the protection afforded by any patents that may be granted, historically, we have relied on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable or that we elect not to patent, processes that are not easily known, knowable or easily ascertainable, and for which patent infringement is difficult to monitor and enforce and any other elements of our product candidate discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information or technology that is not covered by patents. However, trade secrets can be difficult to protect. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, and contractors. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data, trade secrets and intellectual property by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. Agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets and intellectual property may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors.

We cannot provide any assurances that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed in violation of our confidentiality agreements or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. Also, misappropriation or unauthorized and unavoidable disclosure of our trade secrets and intellectual property could impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on our business. Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets and intellectual property are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating any trade secret.

Intellectual property rights of third parties could adversely affect our ability to commercialize our products, and we might be required to litigate or obtain licenses from third parties in order to develop or market our product candidates. Such litigation or licenses could be costly or not available on commercially reasonable terms.

It is inherently difficult to conclusively assess our freedom to operate without infringing on third party rights. Our competitive position may be adversely affected if existing patents or patents resulting from patent applications issued to third parties or other third-party intellectual property rights are held to cover our products or elements thereof, or our manufacturing or uses relevant to our development plans. In such cases, we may not be in a position to develop or commercialize products or our product candidates unless we successfully pursue litigation to nullify or invalidate the third-party intellectual property right concerned or enter into a license agreement with the intellectual property right holder, if available on commercially reasonable terms. There may also be pending patent applications that if they result in issued patents, could be alleged to be infringed by our new products. If such an infringement claim should be brought and be successful, we may be required to pay substantial damages, be forced to abandon our new products or seek a license from any patent holders. No assurances can be given that a license will be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.

It is also possible that we have failed to identify relevant third-party patents or applications. For example, certain U.S. patent applications that will not be filed outside the United States remain confidential until patents issue. Patent applications in the United States and in most of the other countries are published approximately 18 months after the earliest filing for which priority is claimed, with such earliest filing date being commonly referred to as the priority date. Therefore, patent applications covering our new products or platform technology could have been filed by others without our knowledge. Additionally, pending patent applications which have been published can, subject to certain limitations, be later amended in a manner that could cover our platform technologies, our new products or the use of our new products. Third party intellectual property right holders may also actively bring infringement claims against us. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully settle or otherwise resolve such infringement claims. If we are unable to successfully settle future claims on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to engage in or continue costly, unpredictable and time-consuming litigation and may be prevented from or experience substantial delays in pursuing the development of and/or marketing our new products. If we fail in any such dispute, in addition to being forced to pay damages, we may be temporarily or permanently prohibited from commercializing our new products that are held to be infringing. We might, if possible, also be forced to redesign our new products so that we no longer infringe the third party’s intellectual property rights. Any of these events, even if we were ultimately to prevail, could require us to divert substantial financial and management resources that we would otherwise be able to devote to our business.

Patent policy and rule changes could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of any issued patents.

Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of any patents that may issue from our patent applications or narrow the scope of our patent protection. The laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. We therefore cannot be certain that we were the first to file the invention claimed in our owned and licensed patent or pending applications, or that we or our licensor were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. Assuming all other requirements for patentability are met, in the United States prior to 2013, the first to make the claimed invention without undue delay in filing, is entitled to the patent, while outside the United States, the first to file a patent application is entitled to the patent. After 2013, the Leahy-Smith America the United States has moved to a first to file system. Changes to the way patent applications will be prosecuted could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of any issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming, and unsuccessful.

Competitors may infringe our intellectual property. If we were to initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our new products, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our product candidate is invalid and/or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity and/or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. The validity of U.S. patents may also be challenged in post-grant proceedings before the USPTO. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable.

Derivation proceedings initiated by third parties or brought by us may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions and/or their scope with respect to our patent or patent applications or those of our licensors. An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms. Our defense of litigation or interference proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees. In addition, the uncertainties associated with litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our research programs, license necessary technology from third parties, or enter into development partnerships that would help us bring our new products to market.

Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of the ADSs or Ordinary Shares.

We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our intellectual property.

We may be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators or other third parties have an interest in, or right to compensation, with respect to our current patent and patent applications, future patents or other intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. For example, we may have inventorship disputes arise from conflicting obligations of consultants or others who are involved in developing our products. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship or claiming the right to compensation. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting, and defending patents on products, as well as monitoring their infringement in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States.

Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and may also export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products. Future patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets, and other intellectual property protection, which could make it difficult for us to stop the marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our future patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to monitor and enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.

Risks Related to the Ownership of the ADSs or Our Ordinary Shares

Sales of a substantial number of the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares in the public market by our existing shareholders could cause our share price to fall.

Sales of a substantial number of the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that sales may have on the prevailing market price of the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares.

Our principal shareholders, officers and directors beneficially own over 26.5% of our outstanding Ordinary Shares. They will therefore be able to exert significant control over matters submitted to our shareholders for approval.

As of March 31, 2020, our principal shareholders, officers and directors beneficially own approximately 26.5% of our Ordinary Shares. This significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price for our Ordinary Shares because investors often perceive disadvantages in owning shares in companies with controlling shareholders. As a result, these shareholders, if they acted together, could significantly influence or even unilaterally approve matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers or other business combination transactions. The interests of these shareholders may not always coincide with our interests or the interests of other shareholders.

Holders of ADSs must act through the depositary to exercise their rights as our shareholders.

Holders of the ADSs do not have the same rights of our shareholders and may only exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying Ordinary Shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement for the ADSs. Under Israeli law, the minimum notice period required to convene a shareholders meeting is generally no less than 35 calendar days, but in some instances, 21 or 14 calendar days. When a shareholder meeting is convened, holders of the ADSs may not receive sufficient notice of a shareholders’ meeting to permit them to withdraw their Ordinary Shares to allow them to cast their vote with respect to any specific matter. In addition, the depositary and its agents may not be able to send voting instructions to holders of the ADSs or carry out their voting instructions in a timely manner. We will make all reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to holders of the ADSs in a timely manner, but we cannot assure holders that they will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that they can instruct the depositary to vote their ADSs. Furthermore, the depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, holders of the ADSs may not be able to exercise their right to vote and they may lack recourse if their ADSs are not voted as they requested. In addition, in the capacity as a holder of ADSs, they will not be able to call a shareholders’ meeting unless they first withdraw their Ordinary Shares from the ADS program and convert them into the underlying Ordinary Shares held in the Israeli market in order to allow them to submit to us a request to call a meeting with respect to any specific matter, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Israeli Companies Law 5759-1999, or the Companies Law, and our amended and restated articles of association.

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act, allows us to postpone the date by which we must comply with some of the laws and regulations intended to protect investors and to reduce the amount of information we provide in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, which could undermine investor confidence in our company and adversely affect the market price of the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares.

For so long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various requirements that are applicable to public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including:

We intend to take advantage of these exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the date of our first sale of equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Ordinary Shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.

We cannot predict if investors will find the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares, and our market prices may be more volatile and may decline.

As a “foreign private issuer” we are permitted to and follow certain home country corporate governance practices instead of otherwise applicable SEC and Nasdaq requirements, which may result in less protection than is accorded to investors under rules applicable to domestic U.S. issuers.

Our status as a foreign private issuer also exempts us from compliance with certain SEC laws and regulations and certain regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market, including the proxy rules, the short-swing profits recapture rules, and certain governance requirements such as independent director oversight of the nomination of directors and executive compensation. In addition, we are not required, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, to file current reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. domestic companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act and we are generally exempt from filing quarterly reports with the SEC. Also, although the Companies Law requires us to disclose the annual compensation of our five most highly compensated senior officers on an individual basis, this disclosure is not as extensive as that required of a U.S. domestic issuer. For example, the disclosure required under Israeli law would be limited to compensation paid in the immediately preceding year without any requirement to disclose option exercises and vested stock options, pension benefits or potential payments upon termination or a change of control. Furthermore, as a foreign private issuer, we are also not subject to the requirements of Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure) promulgated under the Exchange Act.

These exemptions and leniencies will reduce the frequency and scope of information and protections to which you are entitled as an investor.

We may be a “passive foreign investment company”, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes in the current taxable year or may become one in any subsequent taxable year. There generally would be negative tax consequences for U.S. taxpayers that are holders of the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares if we are or were to become a PFIC.

In general, we will be treated as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in any taxable year in which either (1) at least 75% of our gross income is “passive income” or (2) on average at least 50% of our assets by value produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income. Passive income for this purpose generally includes, among other things, certain dividends, interest, royalties, rents and gains from commodities and securities transactions and from the sale or exchange of property that gives rise to passive income. Passive income also includes amounts derived by reason of the temporary investment of funds, including those raised in a public offering. In determining whether a non-U.S. corporation is a PFIC, a proportionate share of the income and assets of each corporation in which it owns, directly or indirectly, at least a 25% interest (by value) is taken into account. The tests for determining PFIC status are applied annually and it is difficult to make accurate projections of future income and assets which are relevant to this determination. In addition, our PFIC status may depend in part on the market value of the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we currently are not or will not become a PFIC in the future. If we are a PFIC in any taxable year during which a U.S. taxpayer holds the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares, such U.S. taxpayer would be subject to certain adverse U.S. federal income tax rules. In particular, if the U.S. taxpayer did not make an election to treat us as a “qualified electing fund”, or QEF, or make a “mark-to-market” election, then “excess distributions” to the U.S. taxpayer, and any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares by the U.S. taxpayer: (1) would be allocated ratably over the U.S. taxpayer’s holding period for the ADSs or Ordinary Shares; (2) the amount allocated to the current taxable year and any period prior to the first day of the first taxable year in which we were a PFIC would be taxed as ordinary income; and (3) the amount allocated to each of the other taxable years would be subject to tax at the highest rate of tax in effect for the applicable class of taxpayer for that year, and an interest charge for the deemed deferral benefit would be imposed with respect to the resulting tax attributable to each such other taxable year. In addition, if the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, determines that we are a PFIC for a year with respect to which we have determined that we were not a PFIC, it may be too late for a U.S. taxpayer to make a timely QEF or mark-to-market election. U.S. taxpayers that have held the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares during a period when we were a PFIC will be subject to the foregoing rules, even if we cease to be a PFIC in subsequent years, subject to exceptions for U.S. taxpayer who made a timely QEF or mark-to-market election. A U.S. taxpayer can make a QEF election by completing the relevant portions of and filing IRS Form 8621 in accordance with the instructions thereto. We do not intend to notify U.S. taxpayers that hold the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares if we believe we will be treated as a PFIC for any taxable year in order to enable U.S. taxpayers to consider whether to make a QEF election. In addition, we do not intend to furnish such U.S. taxpayers annually with information needed in order to complete IRS Form 8621 and to make and maintain a valid QEF election for any year in which we or any of our subsidiaries are a PFIC. U.S. taxpayers that hold the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares are strongly urged to consult their tax advisors about the PFIC rules, including tax return filing requirements and the eligibility, manner, and consequences to them of making a QEF or mark-to-market election with respect to the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares in the event that we are a PFIC. See “Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Companies” for additional information.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they adversely change their recommendations or publish negative reports regarding our business or our shares, our ADSs or Ordinary Shares price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for the ADSs or our Ordinary Shares will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. We do not have any control over these analysts and we cannot provide any assurance that analysts will cover us or provide favorable coverage. If any of the analysts who may cover us adversely change their recommendation regarding our ADSs or Ordinary Shares, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our ADSs or Ordinary Shares price would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our ADSs or Ordinary Shares price or trading volume to decline.

ADSs holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable results to the plaintiff(s) in any such action. 

The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our Ordinary Shares provides that holders and beneficial owners of ADSs irrevocably waive the right to a trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, against us or the depositary to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. If this jury trial waiver provision is prohibited by applicable law, an action could nevertheless proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a jury trial waiver under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by a federal court. However, we believe that a jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by a court of the State of New York or a federal court, which have non-exclusive jurisdiction over matters arising under the deposit agreement, applying such law. In determining whether to enforce a jury trial waiver provision, New York courts and federal courts will consider whether the visibility of the jury trial waiver provision within the agreement is sufficiently prominent such that a party has knowingly waived any right to trial by jury. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. In addition, New York courts will not enforce a jury trial waiver provision in order to bar a viable setoff or counterclaim sounding in fraud or one which is based upon a creditor’s negligence in failing to liquidate collateral upon a guarantor’s demand, or in the case of an intentional tort claim (as opposed to a contract dispute), none of which we believe are applicable in the case of the deposit agreement or the ADSs. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs serves as a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any provision of the federal securities laws. If you or any other holder or beneficial owner of ADSs brings a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, you or such other holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us and / or the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against us and / or the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different results than a trial by jury would have had, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action, depending on, among other things, the nature of the claims, the judge or justice hearing such claims, and the venue of the hearing.

Risks Related to Israeli Law and Our Incorporation, Location and Operations in Israel

We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

A major portion of our business is conducted, and a material portion of our operating expenses is incurred, outside the United States, mainly in NIS. Therefore, we are exposed to currency exchange fluctuations in other currencies, particularly in NIS and the risks related thereto. Our primary expenses paid in NIS are employee salaries, fees for consultants and subcontractors and lease payments on our Israeli facilities. As a result, we are affected by foreign currency exchange fluctuations through both translation risk and transaction risk. Thus, we are exposed to the risks that: (a) the NIS may appreciate relative to the dollar; (b) the NIS devalue relative to the dollar; (c) the inflation rate in Israel may exceed the rate of devaluation of the NIS; or (d) the timing of such devaluation may lag behind inflation in Israel. In any such event, the dollar cost of our operations in Israel would increase and our dollar-denominated results of operations would be adversely affected. Our operations also could be adversely affected if we are unable to effectively hedge against currency fluctuations in the future.

Provisions of Israeli law and our amended and restated articles of association may delay, prevent or otherwise impede a merger with, or an acquisition of, our company, which could prevent a change of control, even when the terms of such a transaction are favorable to us and our shareholders.

Israeli corporate law regulates mergers, requires tender offers for acquisitions of shares above specified thresholds, requires special approvals for transactions involving directors, officers or significant shareholders and regulates other matters that may be relevant to such types of transactions. For example, a merger may not be consummated unless at least 50 days have passed from the date on which a merger proposal is filed by each merging company with the Israel Registrar of Companies and at least 30 days have passed from the date on which the shareholders of both merging companies have approved the merger. In addition, a majority of each class of securities of the target company must approve a merger. Moreover, a tender offer for all of a company’s issued and outstanding shares can only be completed if the acquirer receives positive responses from the holders of at least 95% of the issued share capital. Completion of the tender offer also requires approval of a majority of the offerees that do not have a personal interest in the tender offer, unless, following consummation of the tender offer, the acquirer would hold at least 98% of the company’s outstanding shares. Furthermore, the shareholders, including those who indicated their acceptance of the tender offer, may, at any time within six months following the completion of the tender offer, claim that the consideration for the acquisition of the shares does not reflect their fair market value, and petition an Israeli court to alter the consideration for the acquisition accordingly, unless the acquirer stipulated in its tender offer that a shareholder that accepts the offer may not seek such appraisal rights, and the acquirer or the company published all required information with respect to the tender offer prior to the tender offer’s response date.

Israeli tax considerations also may make potential transactions unappealing to us or to our shareholders whose country of residence does not have a tax treaty with Israel exempting such shareholders from Israeli tax. See “Taxation—Israeli Tax Considerations and Government Programs” for additional information. 

It may be difficult to enforce a judgment of a United States court against us and our officers and directors in Israel or the United States, to assert United States securities laws claims in Israel or to serve process on our officers and directors.

We were incorporated in Israel. All of our executive officers and directors reside outside of the United States, and all of our assets and most of the assets of these persons are located outside of the United States. Therefore, a judgment obtained against us, or any of these persons, including a judgment based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws, may not be collectible in the United States and may not necessarily be enforced by an Israeli court. It also may be difficult to affect service of process on these persons in the United States or to assert U.S. securities law claims in original actions instituted in Israel. Additionally, it may be difficult for an investor, or any other person or entity, to initiate an action with respect to United States securities laws in Israel. Israeli courts may refuse to hear a claim based on an alleged violation of United States securities laws reasoning that Israel is not the most appropriate forum in which to bring such a claim. In addition, even if an Israeli court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that Israeli law and not United States law is applicable to the claim. If United States law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable United States law must be proven as a fact by expert witnesses, which can be a time consuming and costly process. Certain matters of procedure will also be governed by Israeli law. There is little binding case law in Israel that addresses the matters described above. As a result of the difficulty associated with enforcing a judgment against us in Israel, you may not be able to collect any damages awarded by either a United States or foreign court.

Our headquarters, research and development and other significant operations are located in Israel, and, therefore, our results may be adversely affected by political, economic and military instability in Israel.

Our executive offices and research and development facilities are located in Israel. In addition, all of our key employees, officers and directors are residents of Israel. Accordingly, political, economic and military conditions in Israel may directly affect our business. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have taken place between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries, the Hamas (an Islamist militia and political group that controls the Gaza strip) and the Hezbollah (an Islamist militia and political group based in Lebanon). Any hostilities involving Israel or the interruption or curtailment of trade between Israel and its trading partners could negatively affect business conditions in Israel in general and our business in particular, and adversely affect our product development, operations and results of operations. Ongoing and revived hostilities or other Israeli political or economic factors, such as, an interruption of operations at the Tel Aviv airport, could prevent or delay shipments of our components or products. 

In addition, recent political uprisings, social unrest and violence in various countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Israel’s neighbors Egypt and Syria, are affecting the political stability of those countries. Such instability in the region may lead to deterioration in the political and trade relationships that exist between the State of Israel and certain other countries. Any armed conflicts, terrorist activities or political instability in the region could adversely affect business conditions, could harm our results of operations and the market price of our Ordinary Shares, and could make it more difficult for us to raise capital. Parties with whom we do business may sometimes decline to travel to Israel during periods of heightened unrest or tension, forcing us to make alternative arrangements when necessary in order to meet our business partners face to face. Several countries, principally in the Middle East, still restrict doing business with Israel and Israeli companies, and additional countries may impose restrictions on doing business with Israel and Israeli companies if hostilities in Israel or political instability in the region continues or increases. Similarly, Israeli companies are limited in conducting business with entities from several countries. For instance, in 2008, the Israeli legislature passed a law forbidding any investments in entities that transact business with Iran. In addition, the political and security situation in Israel may result in parties with whom we have agreements involving performance in Israel claiming that they are not obligated to perform their commitments under those agreements pursuant to force majeure provisions in such agreements.

Our commercial insurance does not cover losses that may occur as a result of an event associated with the security situation in the Middle East. Although the Israeli government has in the past covered the reinstatement value of certain damages that were caused by terrorist attacks or acts of war, we cannot assure you that this government coverage will be maintained or, if maintained, will be sufficient to compensate us fully for damages incurred. Any losses or damages incurred by us could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Further, in the past, the State of Israel and Israeli companies have been subjected to economic boycotts. Several countries still restrict business with the State of Israel and with Israeli companies. These restrictive laws and policies may have an adverse impact on our operating results, financial conditions or the expansion of our business. Similarly, Israeli corporations are limited in conducting business with entities from several countries.

In addition, Israel is experiencing a level of unprecedented political instability. The Israeli government has been in a transitionary phase since December 2018, when the Israeli Parliament, or the Knesset, first resolved to dissolve itself and call for new general elections. Since then Israel held general elections three times – in April and September of 2019 and in March of 2020. The Knesset has not passed a budget for the year 2020, and certain government ministries, which may be critical to the operation of our business, are without necessary resources and may not receive sufficient funding moving forward. In the event that the current political stalemate is not resolved during 2020, our ability to conduct our business effectively may be adversely affected.

Your rights and responsibilities as a shareholder will be governed by Israeli law, which differs in some material respects from the rights and responsibilities of shareholders of U.S. companies.

The rights and responsibilities of the holders of our Ordinary Shares (and therefore indirectly, the ADSs) are governed by our amended and restated articles of association and by Israeli law. These rights and responsibilities differ in some material respects from the rights and responsibilities of shareholders in typical U.S.-based corporations. In particular, a shareholder of an Israeli company has certain duties to act in good faith and fairness toward the company and other shareholders and to refrain from abusing its power in the company, including, among other things, in voting at the general meeting of shareholders on certain matters, such as an amendment to the company’s articles of association, an increase of the company’s authorized share capital, a merger of the company, and approval of related party transactions that require shareholder approval. See “Item 6. C. Board Practices—Duties of Shareholders” for additional information. In addition, a shareholder who is aware that it possesses the power to determine the outcome of a shareholder vote or to appoint or prevent the appointment of a director or executive officer in the company has a duty of fairness toward the company with regard to such vote or appointment. There is limited case law available to assist us in understanding the nature of this duty or the implications of these provisions. These provisions may be interpreted to impose additional obligations on holders of our Ordinary Shares that are not typically imposed on shareholders of U.S. corporations.

Our significant shareholder received Israeli government grants for certain of its research and development activities. In course of the Merger with Magna and Foresight Automotive, we assumed, jointly with Magna, certain of its obligations related to such grants. The terms of those grants may require us to pay royalties and to satisfy specified conditions in order to manufacture products and transfer technologies outside of Israel. We may be required to pay penalties in addition to repayment of the grants.

Magna’s research and development efforts related to the technology assigned to Foresight Automotive have been financed in part through royalty-bearing grants in an aggregate amount of approximately $567,000 received from the Israel Innovation Authority, or the IIA, as of December 31, 2019. In course of the Merger with Magna and the Subsidiary, we were required by the IIA to assume, jointly with Magna, its obligations related to such grants. With respect to the royalty-bearing grants we are committed to pay royalties at a rate of 3% to 5% on sales proceeds from our products that were developed under IIA programs up to the total amount of grants received, linked to the U.S. dollar and bearing interest at an annual London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, applicable to U.S. dollar deposits. Regardless of any royalty payment, we are further required to comply with the requirements of the Israeli Encouragement of Research, Development and Industrial Initiative Technology Law, 5744-1984, as amended, and related regulations, or the Research Law, with respect to those past grants. When a company develops know-how, technology or products using IIA grants, the terms of these grants and the Research Law restrict the transfer of such know-how, and the transfer of manufacturing or manufacturing rights of such products, technologies or know-how outside of Israel, without the prior approval of the IIA. Therefore, the discretionary approval of an IIA committee would be required for any transfer to third parties inside or outside of Israel of know-how or manufacturing or manufacturing rights related to those aspects of such technologies. We may not receive those approvals. Furthermore, the IIA may impose certain conditions on any arrangement under which it permits us to transfer technology or development out of Israel. 

The transfer of IIA-supported technology or know-how outside of Israel may involve the payment of significant amounts, depending upon the value of the transferred technology or know-how, our research and development expenses, the amount of IIA support, the time of completion of the IIA-supported research project and other factors. These restrictions and requirements for payment may impair our ability to sell or otherwise transfer our technology assets outside of Israel or to outsource or transfer development or manufacturing activities with respect to any product or technology outside of Israel. Furthermore, the consideration available to our shareholders in a transaction involving the transfer outside of Israel of technology or know-how developed with IIA funding (such as a merger or similar transaction) may be reduced by any amounts that we are required to pay to the IIA.

Our operations may be disrupted as a result of the obligation of management or key personnel to perform military service.

Our employees and consultants in Israel, including members of our senior management, may be obligated to perform one month, and in some cases longer periods, of military reserve duty until they reach the age of 40 (or older, for citizens who hold certain positions in the Israeli armed forces reserves) and, in the event of a military conflict, may be called to active duty. In response to increases in terrorist activity, there have been periods of significant call-ups of military reservists. It is possible that there will be similar large-scale military reserve duty call-ups in the future. Our operations could be disrupted by the absence of a significant number of our officers, directors, employees and consultants. Such disruption could materially adversely affect our business and operations.